Sapharin's Return
by Sapharin
Summary: Reborn from the Force itself...Sapharin's Return
1. Chapter 1

_Ashes to ashes...dust to dust...to the Force wilt thou return... Force thou art...to the Force, wilt thou return..._

A flicker...a spark...a pulsing of Consciousness...then darkness...warmth...fluid...motion...

_We have need of you again... Me? Who am I to be given this honor? Just someone who can stand the riggers of life...and who can maybe be a beacon for others once again...No...no dubious looks...you need this for yourself...and for others... I don't suppose I have a choice in this matter? What do you think?_

The rain poured down in torrents; lightening split the sky like neon knives. The ground was saturated beyond capacity, making it a quick-sand bog... A blue-white strike hit the ground just outside a mass of trees caught in the throes of the storm, and within that strike, a body. A gasp of air, and a spewing of mud from the inside of a living breathing Human body... She lay caked in layers of the soggy ground around her. She was too exhausted to move, other than breath once again...She felt as if she'd drown and come back to life. Foggy incomplete memories creeped into her brain...a temple...a dark robe...faces she once knew...flashes of light...a battle...searing pain... oxygen dimishing...and then darkness... All gone now...and yet, not. She was here, now...yet connected to something greater than herself... She lay in the cold, wet muck, eyes closed, letting exhaustion claim her.

"Over here!" A voice called, "I've found something!"

Days later, she became conscious once again...this time not in cold wet, but warmth and comfort.

"Ahh, _there _you are, " said a woman's voice, "Figured you'd come to, sooner or later." It was a statement of fact, like she'd been expected.

She looked around the dark dingy room, with just her brown eyes; she could move nothing else. She tried to speak, and found she had no voice.

"You want to know where you are." The woman said, again, as a statement of fact, "You are in a shelter - the Telefair Shelter for wayward Souls. We found you, barely alive out in that hellascious storm. You're lucky to be alive. Now, eat some broth."

A feeding tube was put into her mouth, and warm spicy liquid trickled down her throat. That _connection to something_ told her this woman meant well, though she was a bit pushy. There was nothing she could do but bide her time, and go along with whatever presented itself.

Within two months, she found herself back on her feet, and pretty much functional. The woman who rescued her was named Adonamara, and she traveled the galaxy finding lost souls to rescue. They not only recieved care of the body, but mind and Soul as well. She counseled the lost, taught children, and talked of a Power Greater Than Herself.

"Every since the Empire came into being, and the Jedi were distroyed, I've made it my mission to rescue anyone I came across to keep them from the clutches of their evil," she said, "Hence, my Shelter here. Though I don't stay in one place for very long. I keep moving...that way the Empire can't get a bead on me., but my mission is the same. I trust you won't be talking to the Empire any time soon, and even if you would direct them to here, it'll do them no good. Now...pack your stuff... I'm moving on, and you are almost 100. Amazing how fast you healed, though."

Adonamara eyed her curiously.

Jedi...Empire...vague yet not entirely unfamiliar words from somewhere... memories stirred, but nothing she could put a finger on.

She was directed to a old, dirty, ancient trunk. Opening it, she found underneath several mats, a clean, neatly folded dark blue robe, a tunic, undershirt, pants, belt and knee-high boots of undetermined age; and something else...a handle to something. "This is everything that was on you, when you were found," she said, "Though what that is," she pointed to the object, " I'm not entirely certain, though, I've heard stories..." Adonamara handed her a pack, saying no more of what she might or might not know about what the object was. She got the feeling that Adonamara knew more than what she was saying, but didn't press the issue. Her job was to move on, so Adonamara, and her wards were not in danger of being slowed down.

She picked up and examined the battered metal tag on the pack...she didn't recognize the language, and attempted to sound out the markings... Ssssssaaaahfffffrrrrrron...no... she tried again...Saff-fair-on...Yes, that sounded right... She looked at Adonamara... "I've found my name. At least one I can travel by...Sapharin...Telefair." Adonamara smiled a rare smile. "Now, off wit ye!" she said, shooing the newly named Sapharin out her door, "I've got to get loaded up and outta here." Quick tearful hugs were exchanged, and they parted. "May your Power protect you, " Adonamara said. For some reason, the words, "May the Force be with you," became Sapharin's reply.

Using the existing cover of darkness, Sapharin made her way, by instinct, to look for shelter. Creatures of the night, called out. Sapharin was fully aware of her surroundings, and '_knew'_ where danger existed. Another storm was brewing in the distance. Sapharin knew she had to find some sort of shelter, before the storm got any worse. Again she was directed by that something she had called 'the Force'. Dirt, leaves became obstacles; tree branches whipped and threatened to come down and crush her. Bracing herself into the deeply hollowed out base of a large narled tree, she stopped fighting the elements. She curled into a ball, using her pack, and dark robe as cover. With one last crash, the storm suddenly stopped. Sapharin peeked out, listening to the sudden silence. Instinct drew her forward. For another two miles, she trudged, well aware she was ravenous. Light peered over the horizon; incredulously Sapharin stared at a huge tree limb that formed a diagonal canopy blockage, in front of what appeared to be a cave.

"Well...I'll be..." she said to herself. This 'Force' had led her rightly. She found if she angled herself just so, she could fit and crawl underneath the huge tree limb. She then face the opening of a stone cave. The opening of a stone cave was a slender fit, a vertical slit in a thick wall of stone. First her bag, and then herself.

The cave opened into a small stone room, at her left shoulder, above her was a crude torch. Wishing she had light, she raised the unknown handle, by her side, touched the button, and activating it. A pulsing stream of blue-white light rose before her illuminating her surroundings. She walked around the small room and found a nearly invisible stone panel, pushing it, the wall slid quietly aside, revealing yet another stone room. Surprisingly, the room was lit with a warm glow of a what seemed to be a fire-pit. Food stuffs in organized storage. Primitive cooking, cleansing and other facilities had been set up. From the looks of things, someone had settled in for the long haul.

The exhaustion of the long night hit Sapharin, and she once again curled up on an available bedroll. She never knew anything until something prodded her awake.

The glare of a purple lightsabre lit up the cave. A blond haired woman of undetermined age, glared down at her...and she wasn't happy.

"I don't care _who _you are, or why you're here...I want you out of _my _house. _Now_."

_End Part 1_


	2. Chapter 2

Sapharin peered up, blinking away grogginess and the sabre glare.

"I _said_ I want you, who ever you are, _out of here_!" the woman stated again, "I don't want no trouble with the Empire, and I don't need _you_ complicating things."

"I heard you the first time, " Sapharin replied, moving slowly so as not to set this woman off further, "But, you're the one blocking my way, so until you move, or take my head off with that thing, I can't go anywhere. Your call."

To Sapharin's surprise, the woman started laughing, and then collapsed into tears...

"...m-mm-most likely to behead m-mmm-myself..." the woman stammered to herself...

"I'm sorry?" Sapharin questioned, not understanding.

The woman recovered herself... "Nothing...it was nothing..." she said, firmly. "I'm ok now."

Sapharin looked dubious, but said no more. The woman moved aside, and waved the sabre towards the cave entrance. "Out," was all she said.

"Do you mind if I get my stuff?" Sapharin asked.

"Get it, and get gone," the other woman replied.

Sapharin set about gathering up her pack, and hoisted it on her back. She was thankful she traveled light. Adona had packed everything she needed in survival gear, but did it in a fashion of lightweight economy.

"You sure aren't very friendly," Sapharin commented, as she packed, "But then I suppose these days you can't be too careful."

"No, you can't," the woman agreed, warily.

"By the way, I'm Sapharin, and to correct you, I have no love for the Empire," she stated, "Look...I'm not even sure what I am doing here...I just want to find out who I am, what I'm doing in this place."

The look on the other woman's face changed from wariness to one of shock. "_Who _did you say you were?", she asked, not sure she heard correctly.

"Sapharin" she repeated, and headed for the cave entrance; her lightsabre hilt clattered to the stone floor. She bent to pick it up, hooked it to her belt and headed back out to the outside.

The other woman stared after her. "I just talked to a dead woman? That's impossible!"

Sapharin exited the cave, not quite understanding what had just had happened. Had she gotten lucky? The stranger _could have _killed her as she slept, and didn't. And, was she a stranger? The woman _felt _familiar. Things were getting more complicated and confusing. Any mention of the Empire, sent shudders down her spine, and apparently down the spines of others. She needed information, badly. What was going on? What planet was she on? Why was she having visions and headaches, nausea every so often? And why were some people friendly and helpful, and others not?

As she traveled, Sapharin took stock of what she did know: She had 'visions' of things she thought was bits and pieces of her past. She didn't like the mention of the word 'Empire'...it 'unsettled' her in the depths of her very being; blinding headaches, nausea and total body shut-down were the outward signs...and the voices in her head...the screams and the silence afterwards. It was clear to her that something horrendous had occurred regarding the world as she understood it, and it was clearly connected to the Empire.

If only her memories weren't so fragmented...

_Meditate_..._be at peace. _came a whisper in her head. Yes...maybe meditation would be of help

Sapharin stopped where she was, and started working on setting up a crude shelter on the outskirts of the woods she'd weathered a storm only a day or so before. That 'connection' guided her; she blended in well, with the forest around her. Then, she set up an equally primitive Fresher, and then a deep pit campfire both for heat, and safety. Cheating, she used her lightsabre to ignite tinder. She dug through her pack and found quite a few prepackaged meals. She noted flint and steel to use should she not have her lightsabre handy.

_...that lightsabre is your __life_ came the voice again, _do not surrender it willingly_

Other snippets of information came filtering through during her meditative connection; enough information for Sapharin to get a basic gist of what was going on. There was two factions...one good, the Jedi, who no longer existed as a viable Order, because of the other faction, the Sith. The Sith came to power because of the actions of a 'Chosen One' who turned the tide against the Jedi. Many of the Jedi died during an all out extermination by the one known as 'the Chosen One' became 'Vader', and others were being hunted down, as she breathed. She had to stop it! She had to find the Jedi that remained in the Universe and help them! But how?

A tingling sensation interrupted her thoughts. For a moment, there was dead silence other than her breathing, then came the snap of a small branch. Sapharin had already alerted, but nothing came across as 'dangerous' as she used the Force to check her surroundings. Whatever it was, was Human. Still she held her unlit sabre ready.

A shadow stepped carefully into the firelight, unarmed.

"YOU!" Sapharin called out. "I should _know_ you..."

"You look pretty good, for a dead Jedi, Sapharin, " It was the blond woman, with the purple lightsabre, who had chased her out only hours earlier.

"Spark Vallen is the name," she answered, "I'm at a loss as to understand _how_ you could be living."

A tingle of semi-recognition went through Sapharin. That name was vaguely familiar, but the memory with it wasn't there.

"I don't understand, " Sapharin answered, "What do you mean you don't understand how I could be living?"

"You died. I _saw _you, " Vallen answered, emphatically, "I saw you run through with a lightsaber."

Sapharin blinked...the pain, the flashes of light, the lack of oxyen, and other things, made more sense to her now. She raised an eyebrow.

" Well?...Do I stand here all night or what?" Vallen asked. Sapharin motioned for her to sit by the firepit, but her lightsabre never left her lap.

"So tell me. You saw me die, eh?" Sapharin probed, "Exactly what happened?"

"Got any stimcafe? Gimme a cup, and I'll tell you, " Spark offered.

Sapharin dug through her pack once again, found the stimcafe, produce a cup, and handed it to the one called Spark Vallen.

Spark took a few sips, relishing the taste. "I've been trying to cut down on this stuff, but sometimes, it's just _too good_. Know what I mean?" Spark said, smiling. When Sapharin just kept watching her, she went on, "Yeah...ummm...well, you were helping evacuate the Temple. You and several other Jedi Knights were loading transports with the Padawans - the children in training to be Jedi. You'd just gotten the last child in the last transport. You had turned around to help another Jedi fend off the approaching Stormtroopers, when the Jedi in front of you was cut down. Apparently the Stormtrooper thought it fitting to use the lightsabre of your fallen comrade to run you through...right about here..." Spark indicated the diaphram area.

That explained the pain, the flash of white (Stormtrooper armor, apparently) she remembered, and the scar she carried on her body below her chest.

"How do I know you're not feeding me a line?" Sapharin asked.

"You know I'm not, " Spark answered, smugly, "Use the Force if you don't believe me."

Sapharin didn't have to. Spark wasn't lying.

"All I know is, I'm here. My memories are coming back, though still fragmented. I don't know _how _I got here or why I'm here, though, I have decided to find other Jedi survivors and fight the Empire."

Spark laughed outright. "Look, you were a pretty good Jedi Knight in your day, but if you think you're going to fight the Empire all by your little lonesome, you've got delusions."

"No, not alone, " Sapharin said, and paused for effect, "You're helping me."

The look on Vallen's face was priceless...

_End Part 2_


End file.
